This Buenos Aires Airport Lounges, is a review from our regular contributor, Gus.
After spending a relaxing and tourist-tastic few days in Bueno Aires (see here for flight and hotel review), it was time to head back to the international airport, Ministro Pistarini Airport (or EZE for those airport code fans).
In this post:
Choices, choices, choices..
As a British Airways Gold/OneWorld Emerald and as an AmEx Platinum card holder, I was able to do a bit of lounge-hop for this review. It ain’t quite up to LHR T3 standards, but this hop included the ‘official’ BA/OW lounge – the ‘American Airlines Admirals Club and Iberia VIP Lounge’ (quite a mouthful, isn’t it) – as well as the Priority Pass ‘Ezeiza Lounge’, and last but by no means least, the American Airlines ‘Centurion Lounge’.
In this order, I went in to sample ambience, food and drink, and general feel. Spoiler: the Centurion smashed it for me, though it was a few minutes further away in the terminal than the other two, which may make a difference depending on your gate, but otherwise, it is hard to beat. Also worth saying is that nearby, there is also a LatAm lounge, which I didn’t have access to (as LatAm left the OW alliance in 2020).
OneWorld and British Airways lounge
So first up for the Buenos Aires Airport Lounges review, the AA/Iberia (and BA/OW) lounge. This is by gate 9 on the second floor, and to be frank, was very basic.
The décor was pretty clinical and even drab, and oddly enough, it reminded me a little of Etihad’s (soon to be updated) business class lounge in their home airport of Abu Dhabi, which was a bit of a let-down.
That said, it was spacious and not at all busy (especially when compared to the almost-always-now hectic LHR T5 First/Gold lounge) and had a few different seating areas, plus a small dedicated business area.
The food was a particular letdown, as, despite a small freezer with some ice creams (including the famed Dulce de Leche), it was mostly little sandwiches, cakes and light bites.
Priority Pass (and Star Alliance)
Right next door to it is the PP lounge and actually is also the one that many arrivals walk past when they land, as there is only a glass wall between the arrivals walkway and departures – and some tantalising views over the apron. Interestingly, the Ezeiza lounge also acts as the Star Alliance lounge, which I clocked from both the signage on entry, but also as they had a small (and not that special) 4-person seating are roped off for Lufthansa First class passengers. A far cry from their dedicated First Class terminal in Frankfurt!)
Regardless, my personal view is that this had a much better layout and atmosphere than the OW lounge. Perhaps it was the more cosy-style wood affect, or a more sociable super-long communal table that ran alongside the main bar and food area, but it was more comfortable and welcoming.
That said, food was also fairly selective, but if you had an appetite, you could surely keep it at bay until your flight.
Third up: American Express’ Centurion efforts
Thirdly and finally, the AmEx Centurion lounge. This is by gate 13 on the second floor (so if you are lounge-hopping, you have to go downstairs and then up again) and opposite the Aerolinas Argentinian lounge (which, again, I didn’t manage to access). As mentioned up top, this lounge wins out of these three.
It is super consistent with other Centurions that I have visited in the network, and that’s a successful formula.
This lounge was quite long, with four distinct sections. Initially, you enter a slightly dark but quite snug space with carpeted hotel lobby-style seating and soft lighting.
Then you move on into a more open seating area (where most people sat), although this was slightly less indulgent or hotel chill vibes if you ask me.
Thirdly, there was a much more plastic table and chair functional area, clearly primarily for eating, and finally, a reasonable food area, plus a dedicated standalone bar.
There was also a discrete and small kids’ play area thoughtfully tucked away, but frankly, I’d be surprised if it would keep most kids occupied for more than five minutes!
There were a decent number of staff around who seemed quite attentive, and also worth calling out the quality Nespresso coffee machine and another ‘Freddo’ ice cream freezer.
While this lounge also falls short on food in particular, and especially when compared to other major international airport lounges, it was a calm and enjoyable place to while away a bit of time before heading to another long flight.
Kudos to AmEx for the consistency in their Centurion products, and one thing I will admit to being thankful for across all these lounges was that they were not at all full.
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2 comments
Great review and the take away is eat breakfast before arriving or have a big dinner the night before but most importantly don’t bother putting AEP on your ‘arrive early’ list.
There’s a pun in there but I promise it wasn’t intentional
It is quite a time since I last used the OW lounge at EZE but it was grim then; no change then!
It was very dirty when I visited, large dark stains on the carpet and bedraggled furniture. For the main OW Argentinian gateway it’s a disgrace.
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